The Audubon Tennis Courts To Get a Makeover
The Audubon Nature Institute and Tulane University will team up to renovate the Audubon Tennis Courts after coming up with a plan for close to two years. Another part of the deal is for Green Wave tennis teams to train and host their tournaments at the renovated courts. The Tulane tennis players will also move to the courts that are closer to the campus than City Park where they currently practice.
Tulane will pay for the renovations while Audubon will still operate and own the courts. There will be 12 new courts which include six hard courts and six clay courts. NCAA only allows college tournaments to be played on hard courts. There will also be new directional lights for night practices or matches, new restrooms, and new locker rooms.
“Partnering with Tulane would be beneficial for our avid tennis players as well as for Tulane tennis,” said Audubon Institute Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kyle Burks. “We believe this type of agreement can serve as a model of how communities and universities can work together.”
“Our primary focus has always been to operate the Audubon tennis facility as a top-notch public amenity and the potential partnership with Tulane was developed with that as our top priority,” Burks said. “We believe this type of agreement can serve as a model of how communities and universities can work together.”
There are those that oppose the project. “This will reduce public access to clay courts,” said Sandy Rosenthal, a community activist, who plays on the Audubon courts five times a week. “It’s a loss to the community.”